Need better explanation

Regarding the June 24 article (“As groups chafe at pace of criminal justice reform, county administrator points to progress”): I appreciate that Ms. Van Wormer is attempting to publicly address this. However, shouldn’t she have spoken directly to those involved at the march and promised to keep them apprised rather than just giving this interview that comes off more as an attempt at PR damage control than actual concern for the community she is serving?

The public deserved better than these generalized statements of how the grant and work of this council is simply being misunderstood. Those who gathered are quite capable of understanding. Many have college degrees and understand statistics and math and correlations, so this remark that it’s simply misunderstood seems inappropriate at best to me, and at worst, the dismissal of concerns without properly answering the questions show bias in and of itself. What are all the budget allotments for the grant exactly over the course of the next few years of study? In the interest of transparency, this should be clear.

One hopes the budget will go, in no small part to education, cultural awareness, peer support groups, trauma-informed prevention, after-school programs, more community courts, housing and meeting the basic needs of the community so there is less incarceration.

Kelly Mathews

Nine Mile Falls